Reviews by grynder33:

Small head on the pour,aroma was faint, really had to dig but there was a little chocolate there,taste however was very bold,nice chocolate taste fills the palate with a coffee aftertaste, little bit of a chewy texture, distinct currant taste comes on to mix with the always present mocha flavor,towards middle it gets sweeter, almost like hershey syrup. This is really good stuff. Would have rated it higher if there had been a fuller aroma.

More User Reviews:

Pours a deep black with a very faint hit of dark brown along the edges. Tan colored head that mellows out to a thin span across the top of the beer leaving very little lacing on the way down. Initial smell is heavy chocolate and roasted malts, kind of had to coax it out. After the beer warmed up a bit and the glass was swirled, I started to get heavier notes of sweetness from the malts as well as some rich and milky smells. Incredible.

The taste is wonderful. First sip gives a huge roasted malt flavor up front, with a bit of a carbonation snap to it. After a little bit, more flavors start to develop: burnt campfire wood, nuttiness, sweet coffee beans, roasted grains. At the end of the sip, out comes an ever-so-slight yet still very noticeable bite from the hops, to finish the beer off with a nice floral touch. Honestly, the bitterness from the hops at the end, along with the malts and the sweetness of the chocolate is incredible - very nearly perfect in balance. Slightly creamy, but a little thin for what I was expecting.

Lovely porter, here. Great balance, great drinkability, and overall just a great beer. Anyone looking for a top-of-the-line porter should look no further (unless they haven't already had Founders Porter). Great price, easy to find, and more than enough to fulfill your dark and roasted malty needs. Give this one a shot and thank me later.

Served from bottle into glass at home. Pours black with strong sepia colored head. Somewhat underwhelming mild roasted malt aroma with hint of coffee. What was lacking in aroma is more than made up for in flavor. Classic porter taste, creamy roasty toasty malt and subdued chocolate and coffee notes. Low medium bitterness, like dark chocolate and no detectable hops. Smooth mouthfeel, low carbonation and superb drinkability.

Pours brilliant ruby brown under a creamy light brown head that grips the inside of the glass. Big malt aromas with hints of chocolate but no harsh or burnt aromas. The palate follows the nose - creamy snooth light chocolate flavors, well balanced with a light hop accent on the finish.

Appearance: Poured a very dark brown color, nice three finger head that slowly receded to about a quarter inch of foam that left some nice lacing.
Smell: The aroma was coffee, dark chocolate and dark roast malt, with a bit of a caramel note.
Taste: Very close to the smell, coffee and chocolate flavors were dominant, with some slight caramel flavors
Mouthfeel: Rather thin for such a robust flavor.
Overall: This was a very good beer, I'll seek this one out again.

DATE: April 27, 2017... OCCASION: uncapping an Ohio classic--how haven't I had this already?!--as I expect the Browns to finally find a classic of their own (Myles Garrett?)... GLASSWARE: Stoudt's autographed pint...pours a nice, dark body that floats a thick brown head, fluffy and effervescent enough... brilliant, thick chocolate, coffee bean, roasted toffee, slight caramel, suppressed hoppiness--slight citrus, yes... boldly announces itself at just 5.8% ABV... instantaneous warmth, with a thick creaminess that acts as a dessert unto itself... peat and chocolate linger at the finish, while teeth buzz with hoppy presence.... medium-bodied, tremendously drinkable... avoids the cola cliche of lesser porters, with the sweet, peaty finish that evokes a scotch ale...caramel, coffee, oak, and soft vanilla--a lot packed into this one... versatile, powerful, rewarding--like Myles Garrett?--and another victory for one of the best things going for Cleveland... what a great everyday porter, as the style was no doubt intended to be...

Pours a beautiful, firm light tan head with solid retention and thick, wide fields of lacing. Brew is almost perfectly black, with a slight purple hue in the body and dark brown at the bottom of the glass. Head retention is excellent.

Flavor comes in the reverse order of the aroma: sweet, malty, and smooth up front, with notes of cream and cocoa, with the big roasted malts coming in the latter half. A little bit stale on the front end, though; I'm not particularly feeling this. Perhaps it's normally a hoppy porter, and the hops have significantly degraded.

Sticky feel, medium-full, with a long finish.

I really wonder about the age of this bottle, and the intended flavor. There's a significant stale taste, that only builds as the bottle warms, and that's really ruining it for me. I'd like to try it again, possibly on tap, and see if maybe it's supposed to be a hoppy porter, drank fresh.

T- roasted & toasted malty goodness, smoky firewood with a bit of charcoal, mid-palate transitions into silky sweet chocolate flavors with a touch of caramel, the finish is smoky and dry-yet-sweet with rich chocolate on the linger. The smokiness provides almost a dried meat flavor. Flavors are so complex, yet just enough hop to balance it out. The smoky flavors sit on the palate long after consumption.

Spotted this in the single bottle area and added to my pick six. Only a "Best By" date of 7/4/16 to go by. Chilled to 39 degrees, allowed to sit for 10 minutes unopened, poured into oversize wine glass.

Look: Poured a dark ebony brown/black color with a 1/2" dark khaki color head that dissipated fairly quickly leaving a thin ring of foam. Swirling the glass produced a modest bit of lacing.

Smell: Coffee and chocolate, caramel malt, maybe a hint of nuttiness.

Taste: Bold coffee and roasted/burnt malt, chocolate, cola, a hint almost of wine or champagne flavors. A slight but not unpleasant grassy aftertaste. Hop flavors balance nicely, with a smokey touch.

Mouthfeel: Creaminess despite the lack of a bigger head at the pour, carbonation is light but noticeable early on dropping off later as it warmed. I felt a little tingle on the lips, again not unpleasant.

Overall: I've only tried a few porters since getting deeper into craft beers so I'm no expert but I feel this beer certainly represents the style very well and I look forward to trying this one again (and again!). One of the best I have tasted.

Appearance: Pours an dark amber brown with 1/4 inch head, nice lacing on glass.
Smell: At first pour good chocolate notes revealed, after sitting in glass for several minutes a definite sweet coffee aroma dominates.
Taste: Very smooth light coffee with subtle chocolate and dark fruits on the tongue lead to a smoky finish with little bitter aftertaste.
Mouth feel: very smooth and well balanced, not too thick or thin.
Overall: A very solid porter that is readily available and never disappoints.

I gravitate towards Stouts, but Porters as a category very much overlap (with typically more hops vs a pure Stout). This Edmund Fitzgerald has the thick malt and pronounced hops flavors of a Porter. But it is distinctive by adding nicely executed Coffee and Dark Chocolate flavors. I could happily drink this all night.

T: Following the nose this is a bit of a disappointment. Milk chocolate & raspberry are the two components that seem to dominate the palate. A skootch of hop-bitterness toward the finish. Not as complex as I'd hoped.

M: Lowish carb & perfectly, silkily creamy feel. Just heavy enough on the palate to remind you that you're drinking a porter.

O: There are high notes & there are average notes. Nothing about this brew is sub-par.

One of the best porters readily available- may be the best available tbh. Pours black, nice coffee on the nose with a little cocoa and an almost licorice scent. Thin, but that is to be expected as this ABV. A masterpiece in every way for the style.

t: first sip makes me think this is definitely worth the high rating. second sip confirms. this drinks REALLY smooth. nice toasted malt, dark chocolate, plums, raisins. there is a very slight and smooth earthy coffee-like bitterness, almost tea leaf like on the backend. milk chocolate and toasted malt linger for a while - real nice

m: lighter side of medium. even though there was a large head, there is not much carbonation in the mouth

o: i am very happy with this, it is absolutely worth you getting. at 5.8% its really drinkable, yet the filled with smooth flavors. i have nothing negative to say about this beer. if you like porters, drink this.

If you are looking for the body/feel of a Founders Porter you may be disappointed. However, the thing I like the most about this beer (outside of price and availability) is that I dont know of any other beer that offers the flavor at this ABV and thinner body. Smokey, roasted malts with chocolate and coffee. Very ashy. Everything a porter should be. You can drink an entire 6 pack in an evening and not only enjoy the hell out of it, but not regret it. This is the best porter in the world. At least I haven't had one better yet.

Pours a dark ruddy brown with a thin amount of tan colored head.
Dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans and malt.
Mmmm...bittersweet chocolate, coffee with milk, and a bit of smoke.
Full of flavor! A nice round smokiness with a decent amount of carbonation. Great amount of lingering flavor.
Overall a terrific tasting porter! Nice amount of chocolate and coffee and roasted smokiness!

Pours almost black but has an edge allows you to observe a crimson hue. The beer has impeccable clarity and when held to the light you can see the stream of bubbles rising in the center of the glass. Fat tan head of foam that falls well and leaves sheets of lace to fall back down into the beer as you drink. The suds refresh with each tip of the glass.

Nose is brilliant. Sophisticated roasted malt. Blackened, bready, but not crusted or burned. Toasted perfectly smooth. It has a the light scent of creamy caramel. A light touch of brown sugar, bold espresso that is smoothed out by dark bittersweet chocolate. It has a cookie like dryness even on the nose and a light and delicate hop herbal.

Taste is sensational. The malt rolls out of the glass, supple, creamy, like velvet. Soft and graceful. The caramel stays light and lightly sweet with a bit of nut to it and that sweet little bit of cream to fill up the palate. The coffee and the dark chocolate gives it oomf and a burly quality that is very dynamic. It finishes dry and with an endless grain. The hop herbal balances this perfectly for an aftertaste that is filled with soft dark bread. The body of the beer is medium and it approaches chewy but stays just shy of it. It has a little bit of thickness and it feels great on the palate.

This beer has a radiant and strikingly handsome appearance. The nose is dapper and full of rich deep scents. The taste is smart and it dazzles with it's depths and with it's light sweetness. Engaging. Simply one of the best porters.

L - dark caramel brown, but still slightly translucent under the light. little to no head
S - very complex. coffee, vanilla, toffee, and some dried fruit
T - initially tastes a little like burned coffee, but not in a bad way. full flavor of the coffee and smokiness comes through after, along with the roasted malts as well
F - medium mouthfeel, but complex beer overall, yet still refreshing and easily drinkable. carbonation is also just right. this beer seems to have paradoxical qualities. i don't know how they do it, but it certainly works for me
O - an excellent porter, and one of the best around. there really isn't much more i can ask from this beer

A: Pours a deep black with a khaki colored head. Some lacing is left along the glass as I drink.

S: Smells of roasted malts and coffee. I pick up some chocolate as well, which is customary for a porter. There's not too much depth to this, but what actually is there is awesome.

T: Roasted malts overtake my pallet in a delicious manner. Some coffee flavors and chocolate of course come from the roasted malts. There's a little bit of sweetness from some dark fruits that I'm picking up as well. Very pleasant.

M: Very smooth tasting with some light carbonation. Very drinkable for the style, even though low in ABV. Definitely easy to have a few of these and not thing twice.

Overall: A fantastic example of the American Porter style. I wish I could get this in my neck of the woods. Under 10 bucks for a 6er of this is one of the best values I've ever seen. If this was available in New England I'd be buying this as my go-to porter.